Ghanaian musician Kirani Ayat has strongly denied claims made by the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Ghana Tourism Authority (GTA), Akwasi Agyeman, about their supposed collaboration on projects.
Speaking in an interview on Hitz FM on 18 November 2024, Agyeman alleged that despite the Authority’s willingness to work with the musician following a copyright dispute, Kirani had been unavailable for planned projects.
The issue traces back to a 2022 copyright infringement lawsuit where Kirani accused the GTA of using scenes from his Guda music video in a promotional campaign, shared on President Akufo-Addo’s X account, without his consent.
After the legal battle, the GTA compensated Kirani and pledged future collaboration to promote Ghana’s culture, landscapes, and talents.
However, Agyeman claimed that when the government reached out to Kirani for a project in Navrongo as part of the "December in GH" programme, he and his team were unprepared. Agyeman said, We reached an agreement and a settlement... but since then, we haven’t been able to go the whole nine yards with him.
Reacting to a video of Agyeman’s interview shared on X, Kirani dismissed the allegations as false. He wrote, This man, he no dey answer my manager’s call. All be lie.
According to the artist, his manager’s attempts to communicate with the CEO have been ignored, contradicting claims of his unavailability. The dispute has reignited conversations about artist rights and institutional accountability in Ghana.